The case has come to illustrate the plight of Roma gypsies in Bulgaria, many of whom have spent their lives in poverty, are illiterate and have been marginalised by society.

Four-year-old Maria was found last week hiding under a blanket at a Roma settlement in central Greece. DNA tests showed the Roma couple she was with were not her real parents.

Maria, whose case has drawn parallels with the disappearance of 3-year-old Briton Madeleine McCann in 2007, is being looked after by a Greek charity, which says it has received over 10,000 calls with leads or from parents of missing children.

Unidentified Missing Girl (Image: AFP/Getty)

Sasha already had two children and was picking olives in the coastal town of Livanates, Greece, when she fell pregnant in 2008, it was claimed today.